Sunday 14 October 2012 08.23 EDT
First published on Sunday 14 October 2012 08.23 EDT

Steve Borthwick, like his fellow thirty-somethings Nick Easter and Mike Tindall, may have been given his bus pass by England but there are few second rows in the game with his mastery in the lineout, as Edinburgh discovered during their record 45‑0 defeat against Saracens at Murrayfield.

Edinburgh, last season's semi-finalists who were confident of defeating opponents they regarded as unenterprising, struggled to achieve position and when they did get into enemy territory, Borthwick sabotaged their lineout and led a typically resolute defence.

"Steve was magnificent and was deservedly named man of the match," said the Saracens director of rugby, Mark McCall. "He really got stuck into their lineout and when you do not have a base to play from it is very difficult."

Saracens had scored one try in their previous four Premiership matches but they scored five at Murrayfield, inspired by the form outside-half in England, Charlie Hodgson, another 30-plus player who will not be involved in next month's internationals having retired from Test rugby.

Sarries will take charge of their group if they defeat Racing Métro in Brussels on Saturday. The Top 14 club, buoyed by the goal-kicking of Olly Barkley, downed Munster 22‑17 at Stade de France despite being outscored two tries to one.

"The history of this competition tells you that away victories are vitally important," said McCall. "We have made a good start by getting a win and a bonus point, but the Racing game will be pivotal for us. We are always positive and we converted more opportunities than we normally do."

Edinburgh's head coach Michael Bradley had said before the match that he did not expect Saracens to win the Heineken Cup because he felt they were one-dimensional, a view that needed revision following the quality of the tries scored by Joel Tomkins, Owen Farrell, an effervescent Chris Ashton, Alex Goode and Hodgson.

"People can call us boring but we go out to win," said the Saracens and Scotland flanker Kelly Brown. "We know what we are trying to do and as a group we are incredibly close. We want to score tries, but it is all about winning."

Clermont Auvergne also secured a winning bonus point, thrashing the Scarlets 49‑16. The Wales full-back Lee Byrne was among their try scorers but the sides were locked at 13‑13 at the end of the first-half, when the Scarlets and Wales wing Morgan Stoddart was sent off for a second yellow card offence.

Connacht, who on Saturday will be looking for their second victory over Harlequins in Galway this year, warmed up with a 19‑10 victory over Zebre in Parma.